Felipe Alou
Felipe Rojas Alou (born May 12 1935 in Bajos de Haina, Dominican Republic), is a former outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball and the former manager of the San Francisco Giants and Montreal Expos. The first Dominican to play regularly in the major leagues, he is the most prominent member of one of the sport's most notable families of the late 20th century: his younger brothers Matty and Jesús were both longtime National League outfielders, and his son Moisés was most recently an outfielder with the New York Mets; all but Jesús have been named All-Stars at least twice. The family name in the Dominican is Rojas, but Felipe Alou and his brothers became known by the name Alou when the Giants' scout who signed Felipe mistakenly thought his matronymic was his father's name. During his 17-year career spent with the Giants, Milwaukee & Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Montreal Expos, and Milwaukee Brewers, Alou played all three outfield positions regularly (736 games in right field, 483 in center, 433 in left), and led the National League in hits twice and runs once. Batting regularly in the leadoff spot, he hit a home run to begin a game on 20 occasions. He later became the winningest manager in Expos history, leading the team from 1992 to 2001 before rejoining the Giants in 2003. Playing career Alou lived in poverty in the Dominican Republic and dreamed of escaping it by becoming a doctor. However, a switch from track and field to baseball at the Pan-American Games revealed a talent for the game as the Dominican team took gold. He still pursued a university career a while longer, but was finally forced to sign with the Giants in November for only $200 due to family financial problems. Alou made his major league debut in and was an All-Star in , when he batted .316 with 25 home runs and 98 RBI. Alou was joined by his brothers, Matty in , and Jesus in , who became the first all-brother outfield. Alou was traded to the Braves before . Two years later he enjoyed his best season, when he batted .327 with 31 home runs and led the league in runs (122), hits (218), at bats (666), and total bases (355); he finished second in the batting race to his brother Matty. He also had a good year in , batting .317 and leading the league in hits (210) and at bats (662); he made the All-Star team both years. Alou continued to play with several more teams through , though he never again approached this level of success. Managing career After the end of his playing career, Alou joined the Montreal Expos organization in 1976, becoming a batting coach and a minor league manager. The Giants offered him the manager's spot in , but he remained with the Expos out of loyalty. On May 22, , Alou was promoted from the Expos bench coach to field manager, becoming the first Dominican-born manager in MLB history. The team was developing a core of young talent during this period, including Larry Walker, John Wetteland, Delino DeShields, and Alou's own son, Moisés. In the Expos had the best record in the major leagues; however, the strike that year denied the Expos a chance at getting to their first World Series, and ownership soon began dealing all their young talent to cut payroll. Alou was named the NL Manager of the Year. The Los Angeles Dodgers tried to lure him away in , but he declined to leave Montreal. Eventually, Alou became the winningest manager in team history. Despite Alou's popularity in Montreal, the Expos' dismal record eventually led to his dismissal by new owner Jeffrey Loria, who replaced him with Jeff Torborg during the season. Several teams tried to lure Alou out of retirement, including the Boston Red Sox, but he would not budge. He finally agreed to serve a single year as the bench coach for Detroit Tigers rookie manager Luis Pujols ( ). Prior to the season, Alou was named manager of the Giants, the team where he began his professional baseball career, replacing Dusty Baker who had left to manage the Chicago Cubs. In his first season in San Francisco, he managed his team into the playoffs, where they were defeated by the Florida Marlins in the NL Division Series in 4 games. The Marlins went on to win the World Series. In , the Giants signed Moisés Alou to a one-year contract with an option for the season, reuniting him professionally with his father after seven seasons apart. Managerial Statistics See also *Players from Dominican Republic in MLB *Top 500 home run hitters of all time *List of major league players with 2,000 hits *List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions *List of second generation MLB players *List of Major League Baseball managers in 2006 References External links * *Managerial record at Baseball-Reference.com *Baseball Almanac *Baseball Library Category:Major League Baseball right fielders Category:Major League Baseball center fielders Category:San Francisco Giants players Category:Atlanta Braves players Category:Milwaukee Braves players Category:Milwaukee Brewers players Category:Montreal Expos players Category:New York Yankees players Category:Oakland Athletics players Category:National League All-Stars Category:Managers Category:Manager of the Year Award Category:Montreal Expos managers Category:San Francisco Giants managers Category:Major League Baseball coaches Category:Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Category:First Basemen Category:Right Fielders Category:Center Fielders Category:Players